Acclaimed pianist, composer and bandleader Renee Rosnes' latest album Crossing Paths will be released December 6 from Smoke Sessions Records. The new recordings features American and Brazilian stars.
Crossing Paths finds a stellar band exploring masterpieces from the songbooks of Brazil’s most revered composers, entrancingly melding the beguiling rhythms of bossa nova, frevo, samba, afoxé, and other styles with Rosnes’ visionary approach to modern jazz.
Rosnes spoke recently to WBGO's "Drive Time" host Brian Delp about Crossing Paths and her current residency at SMOKE Jazz Club that runs through November 24 in New York City.
"This album was something in the back of my mind for about 30 years. I finally came to the decision that now is the time to embark upon this project."
The pianist is joined by a phenomenal band mixing American jazz masters (saxophonist Chris Potter, trombonist Steve Davis, bassist John Patitucci and drummer Adam Cruz) with contemporary Brazilian voices (guitarist Chico Pinheiro, percussionist Rogério Boccato and vocalist Maucha Adnet) and the classical flutist Shelley Brown, who is a longtime member of the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra and the National Ballet of Canada Orchestra.
Thrillingly, the album is graced by special guest appearances from legendary artists and composers Edu Lobo and Joyce Moreno, who perform their own classic songs. Both provide a direct link from Rosnes’ contemporary interpretations to “the second generation” post Bossa Nova era, granting this gorgeous new album the imprimatur of some of the music’s pioneering artists.
"I was so fortunate to have Joyce (Moreno) and Edu Lobo perform with me, and perform their own compositions. I can't express how grateful I am to be able to present them on this album."
Like most North American listeners, Rosnes’ path first crossed that of the great Brazilian composers through the immortal songs of Antônio Carlos Jobim, soon followed by Native Dancer, Wayne Shorter’s classic 1975 collaboration with Milton Nascimento.
While Crossing Paths is the first project that Rosnes has wholly dedicated to Brazilian music, it’s far from her only exploration of the songbook. Her adoration of the music can be traced throughout her career. Her Juno Award-winning 1996 Blue Note album Ancestors opened with Edu Lobo’s “Upa Neguinho,” and 1999s Art & Soul included Egberto Gismonti’s “Sanfona.” Jobim’s catalogue is represented by “Modinha” on Manhattan Rain (2012) and by “Double Rainbow” on her 2010 two-piano outing with husband Bill Charlap, Double Portrait.
"With the exception of Jobim, who was born in 1927, all of the other composers on this new album were born in the '40's within a six-year period of each other from 1942 to 1948, they were all contemporaries of one another."
Rosnes’ most extensive opportunity delving into the repertoire came in 1998 when she was enlisted by Joyce Moreno (also known by the one-word sobriquet Joyce) for the singer-guitarist’s 1998 tribute album, Astronauta: Canções de Elis [Songs of Elis]. For that outing, she split piano duties with the late, great Mulgrew Miller and was thrilled to record the Jobim classic “Waters of March” with bossa nova titan Dori Caymmi sharing vocal duties.
Moreno, now 76, returns the favor on Crossing Paths to sing a mesmerizing rendition of her song “Essa Mulher,” originally recorded as the title track of a 1979 Elis Regina album and a year later by Moreno herself on Feminina. The first verse unfolds as a graceful, delicate piano/voice duet before the band enters gently, highlighted by Davis’ sensitive trombone accompaniment.
The album’s other special guest, Edu Lobo, joins for two of his own gems. His relationship with Rosnes began when she received an Instagram message from the singer-songwriter praising her recording of “Upa Neguinho.” A digital pen pal friendship was struck up, bearing fruit on his pair of striking vocals on “Pra Dizer Adeus” and “Casa Forte.” Rosnes’ own voice can also be heard on “Pra Dizer Adeus” as she sings along in unison with her improvised piano solo. At 81, Lobo’s voice is only enriched by age, vividly conveying the songs’ emotional complexity despite language barriers.
Crossing Paths opens with a spirited take on Gismonti’s “Frevo,” with Rosnes, Pinheiro, and Brown as the fluid frontline. Brown is one of Rosnes’ oldest friends, dating back to their days as roommates at the University of Toronto. The session offered Rosnes her first opportunity to play with Pinheiro, surprisingly given how magically their two voices combine on their exhilarating duet inventions here, which follow a virtuosic turn by Patitucci on electric bass.
Caetano Veloso’s “Trilhos Urbanos” is a Brazilian anthem depicting the bustling streetcars of his Bahia hometown, Santo Amaro, here fueling lively solos by Davis, Pinheiro, and the leader. While she could have opted for any number of familiar Jobim melodies for the date, Rosnes chose the more obscure “Canta, Canta Mais.” The song is stirringly rendered by the Rio-born contralto Maucha Adnet, who spent ten years singing with Antonio Carlos Jobim and his Nova Banda. Adnet invited the band to join her with vocals, in keeping with the lyric (which translates as, “Sing, Sing More”). The album concludes with a return to Jobim for “Caminhos Cruzados,” which translates to “Crossing Paths” featuring a second intoxicating Adnet vocal and a poignant piano solo.
Chris Potter joins the ensemble for three tracks. Lobo’s classic “Casa Forte” features a sprightly soprano solo leading directly into Rosnes dancing across the keys. Gilberto Gil’s “Amor Até O Fim” finds his muscular tenor sparring with Rosnes’ grooving Rhodes, while Milton Nascimento’s “Estórias da Floresta” reprises the tenor/Rhodes combo over an evocative rhythm forest conjured by Cruz and Boccato. The piece comes from Nascimento’s 1990 album Txai, which was inspired by the composer’s desire to bring more attention to the plight of the Amazon rain forest and its indigenous people.
You can SEE Brian Delp's entire interview with Renee Rosnes here.
